Doorstop



April 7, 1931- u. L. LARSON 1,800,086

DOORSTOF Filed Aug. 26. 1929 raised position.

Patented Apr. 7, 1931 TES PATENT OFFICE two I. LARSON, or GARY, INDIANA DOOBSTOP Application filed August 26, 1929. Serial No. 388,368.

This invention relates to doorstops primarily foruse on relatively large heavy vertical doors swinging horizontally, such, as garage doors, frequently subject to substantial wind pressure. a

The Vprimaryobjects of the invention are: to provide a simple device in which the operative leg is normally held inoperative by gravity and automatically swings down to operative position on v the initial opening movement of the door; to provide in such a device a fixed block secured to the door, and a leg, in combination with a link connection permitting special relative movements and insuring the same; to avoid direct strain or leverage on all fastenings and movable connections to avoid subjecting said link or pivotal connectiontoany thrust or leverage or twisting strains from said leg; to decrease the thrust exerted by said leg directlyor indirectlyonthe securingmeans for said block; and to provide a very simple stop very economical of manufacture and capable of production from short normally waste lengths of p lumber,excepting, ofcourse, for the mounting means orscrews, and the connecting link of theembodimentillustratedl i i In this application I show and describe only the preferred embodimentof my invention simply byway of illustration of the practice of my invention, as by law required. However, I am well aware that my invention is capable o'fother and different embodiments, andrthat the details thereof may be modified indifferent ways, all without departing from my said invention'and,stherefore, the drawing and description'herein are to be consideredas'merely illustrative and not asexclusive. i

1 In the accompanying drawings:

-Figure1 represents a sideelevation of a device .embodying my invention as applied to a door and withthe leg shown in fulllines in lowered operative ground engaging position andin dotted lines in raised inoperative position;

1 Figure 2,a front elevation thereof; and Figure 3,11 view similar to Fig. 1 with themovable member'or leg supported in Referring now in detail to the drawings, 1 designates the chuckor thrust block secured to the garage door A by suitable means, such as screws B respectively applied through the upper and lower end portions of blockA and into the wooden material of said door A.

Said block 1 is preferably formed from a short length of wood and has a front face 2 inclined from its top downward and laterally away from the doorA on an angle of approximately 21 degrees in the embodiment illustrated, though this exact angle is not essential, it being sufficient if the cooperatingfaces 2 of said block 1 and 5 of the leg 6 be so formed as to, in cooperation with the link 7 or equivalent means, function to support the leg 6 normallyin, inoperative position and to cause the automatic movement of said leg to operative ground engaging position on the initial openingmovement' of said door A.

The lower end portion of said block 1 is cut awayto form a reduced thickness extreme lower end portion receiving the lower mount ing orsecuringscrew B and to form a shoulder 3, which may extend at a right angle to, and intersect, face 2 of said block 1 and forms a very slightly obtuse angle with the front face 40f said reduced lower portion of said block 1. i i i An U-shaped metal link 7 has one leg extending through said block 1 parallel to the face2 and the face of shoulder 3 and adjacent to, and equidistant from said faces, so as to be pivotally mounted in said block 1, its other leg similarlyextending freely through a transverse bore in the upper portion of said leg 6, the upper end of which is rounded off concentric, or substantially concentric, with the axis of said bore, a yoke, plate or tie strap 8 suitably formed or perforated to receive the same being applied over the free ends of, the legs ofsaid link 7 and held thereto by nuts 9 respectively applied to the respective ends of said legs as shown in Fig. 2, thus preventing said legs from spreading and holding them parallel. Of course it is not essential that the link should be U-shape, or that its parallel legs should be integral, or that it should have legs or parts corresponding thereto extending from side to side through said block and leg respectively,-so long as there be some provision for maintaining the desired parallelism between the front face of said block and the front face of said leg with retaining them in substantially the same vertical plane, andit is obvious that any link construction suitable to the general purpose may be used.

The leg 6 will preferably be formed from a short length of lumber such as usually considered a-waste length, preferably of uniform width and thickness, and preferably being of the same width as-said block 1, and will preferably have parallel front and back faces with its bottom end preferably extending at right angles to said front and back faces to present sharp corners with a substantial end area, and will preferably have the corners of its upper end rounded off concentrically with the axis of its transverse bore to permit a good strong connection at its upper end with said link 7, while not hindering the movement of tending through the block 1, and the weight said leg 6 and link 7 with relation to the block 1.

Normally the door A will be closed and the 7 leg 6 will be swung upward so that its front face 5 liesflat against the inclined front face 2 of block 1, the said leg 6 in being so moved swinging about the lower leg of the link 7, and the link 7 swinging forwardly and up wardly about the axis of its upper leg exof the leg 6 being a pli'ed'to thelink 7 in a straight line "-paral el' to the face 2, vall as shown in Figures 1 and 8, said leg fi being moved tothi's position prior to the closing of the door A, and the movement of the door A in'being closed being, of course, in the directionof'sai'd'leg 6 as thus raised, so that in such closing of the door the supportingsur face 2 moves in the direction of the leg 6- and acts-constantly to support it. I

When the door A is moved in the reverse direction, however, to open it, the movement causes the receding of the supporting face 2 away from the leg 6, plus an. initial sudden change from stationary condition to'mo'vement, with the result that as the opening movement of the door A commences-the leg 6 will not movewith the-block 1' and supporting face 2 thereof, but its lower end willbe piv'otally held by the link 7 tothe block, so that the upper end of the leg 6 will swing out-away from the block 1-,, releasing" the fric-' tional contact and losing the support of, face 2, so causing the link 7 under its full weight to swingabout its pivotal connection to block ;1, and thus causing the leg 6 to swing out-- wardly away from face 2 and down about its pivotalconnection to saidlink 7 toyop'era'tive ground engaging position, dragging on the ground: as the opening movement of the door Acontinues.

Any reverse movement of thedoor,as by. wind pressure or gravity, in closing direction will cause the lower end of the leg 6 to dig into the ground and the upper end to follow the face of the shoulder 3 back until said upper end of the leg engages the face 4 or equivalent, so that the thrust of the leg 6 is applied in the angle of the faces 3 and 4 and between the fastening means B and substantially at right angles to the axes of the legs of said link 7 v Of course the block may be applied to the face of the door at any point slightly above, or somewhat below the, point of attachment illustrated in the drawing, or at any one of a number of intermediate points, but the point preferred byapplicant is as illustrated.

Of course all parts may be made of any suitable'metals, either solid pr hollow castings, forgings, or sheet or. other fabricated metal, or of any desired and suitable inaterials, though wood for the block l and leg 6 fromswinging shut,- all as is quite obvious,-

Having thus desoribed my invention, what I claim as new and'desiro to secure by Let tors Patent is i 1. A door stop comprising a: block adapted to besecured to a movable vertical door and formed with an abrupt downwardly present= ed shoulder, and a leg,.in combination with a link connecting said block andleg, said block and leg having faces adapted to contact in inoperative positionof the leg and. cooperating with said link to normally support said leg in inoperative position and also so positioning said leg and so cooperating with said link that on the initial movement of said door away from said leg'the latter will automatically swing down to operative ground engaging position, and its upper end will be held by said link presented"therebybeneath. said shoulderfor engagement therewith. I l

2. A door stop eompri nga block adapted to besecured to a movable vertical door and formed with an abrupt downwardly presented shoulder, and a leg, in combination with a rigid link pivotally connected to, and swinging about the axis of its point of connection with,isaidtblock, and also pivotall-y eonneeted to the upper end portion of saidleg to permit said leg to swing about theaxis of the latter pivotal connection.

A doorstep comprising; a block adapted tobe secured to a movable vertical door and formed with an abrupt downwardly present-- ed shoulder, and a leg, in combination link means connected to said block to swing 7 about the axis of said connection and connected with the upper portion of said leg in such manner as to permit said leg to swing about the axis of the latter point of connection, said axes being parallel and said link means being so constructed as to prevent substantial twisting movement of said leg with relation to said block. a

4. A door stop comprising a block adapted to be secured to a swinging vertical door and formed with an abrupt downwardly presented shoulder, and a leg, in combination with a rigid U-shaped link comprising long parallel legs respectively extending freely through bores in the adjacent portions of said block and said leg and permitting relative movement between the respective legs of said link and said block and leg respectively.

5. A swinging vertical door, a block, and means for respectively securing the upper and lower end portions of said block to said door, and a leg, said block being formed with an abrupt downwardly presented shoulder, in

combination with means movably and permanently connecting said leg to said block and for permitting the movement of the upper end of said leg toward and from said shoulder and for presenting said upper end of said leg to said shoulder to apply a thrust thereto in a line intersecting said block between its respective upper and lower securing means.

6. A swinging vertical door, a block, means for respectively securing the upper and lower end portions of said block to said door, and a leg, said block being formed with an abrupt downwardly presented shoulder, in combination with rigid link means pivotally connected to said block and the adjacent upper end portion of said leg and permitting the movement of said upper end of said leg toward and from said shoulder and for presenting said upper end of said shoulder to apply a thrust thereto in a line intersecting said block between its respective upper and lower securing means and out of line with the point of pivotal connection of said link means to said block. a

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specification at Gary, Indiana, this23 day of August, 1929.

UNO L. LARSON. 

